Lumpiang keso

Cheese and a wrapper, frozen first, and the shortest fry of any lumpia.

Egg. Not vegetarian — contains cheddar whose rennet the source does not name.

Ingredients

• 400 g firm cheddar, in 8 cm by 1 cm batons
• 24 lumpia wrappers
• 1 egg, beaten
• oil, for deep frying
• sweet chilli sauce, to serve

Method

1. THE WHOLE PROBLEM IS KEEPING THE CHEESE IN. There is no filling to cook, so every instruction here is about the seal and the clock.
2. Roll each baton tightly in a wrapper, folding the sides in hard, and paint the final edge with beaten egg. Press the seam flat for a few seconds so it actually sticks.
3. FREEZE THEM, at least 1 hour and up to a month. From frozen the cheese is still solid when the wrapper has already coloured, which is the only way this works.
4. Heat the oil to 180C -- hotter than for the other lumpia, because the fry has to be over before the cheese melts through.
5. Fry from frozen, 60 to 90 SECONDS, until just golden. Do not wait for deep brown.
6. Lift onto a rack, not paper. Eat within a few minutes: cold cheese sticks are a different and sadder thing.

Our own recipe. This one was written for this site rather than taken from anywhere, so there is no source to point you at. The quantities and the order of the steps are choices, not the only way to do it.

Filed under Philippines · All recipes